Thoughts on Davidson’s defense, NCAA chances and a plug for guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson

The Davidson Wildcats finished the first half of their Atlantic 10 season on Wednesday with a convincing 68-53 victory against Rhode Island at Belk Arena, where they’re unbeaten this season. They’re on the road for their next two games, Saturday against Massachusetts and next Wednesday against Fordham.

Here are a few thoughts about the first-place Wildcats (17-5, 8-1 Atlantic 10), who hold a one-game lead over Virginia Commonwealth in the league standings:

Davidson? Defense?

Although the Wildcats have built a reputation over the years as a team that relies on a free-flowing, efficient offense, this year’s team is making a name for itself with something else: defense.

In conference play, Davidson leads the league in scoring defense (59.0 points per game) and 3-point defense (24.4). The Wildcats are second behind Virginia Commonwealth in field-goal defense (39.0).

“I think our coaching staff, our assistant coaches, have really harped on disciplined defense, and put a very, very strong emphasis upon certain fundamentals,” said Wildcats coach Bob McKillop. “We haven’t changed at all. We have been doing the same things since Aug. 31, and it’s now habit. It’s becoming habit. There are mistakes, there are breakdowns, but the habits have really clicked. Our guys really respect that, and our guys work at it.”

One change has been first-year assistant coach and defensive specialist Kevin Kuwick, a former Dayton assistant who was the Wildcats’ director of operations last season.

“Kevin just has a great feel for defense,” said McKillop. “He’s been sensational in terms of his understanding of defensive concepts and principles. He’s like a defensive coordinator, but we don’t have that.”

NCAA tournament outlook

The rest of the schedule sets up well for the Wildcats, who have beaten five of the other teams in the top half of the conference (their lone loss came at Saint Joseph’s). The combined league record of their first-half opponents is 45-42; the combined record of their remaining opponents is 30-47, including Saturday’s opponent UMass, which is 1-9 in the conference and 8-15 overall. Fordham is 1-8, 10-12 overall.

The Wildcats will need to take full advantage of that remaining schedule if they are to be in position to gain an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament should they falter in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn. The Atlantic 10 is normally a multi-bid league, sending at least two teams to the NCAA tournament for 13 consecutive years.

However, the league is down this season with VCU (49th) and Davidson (59th) the highest-ranked teams in the NCAA’s new Net ranking system, which will be relied on heavily by the tournament selection committee in determining the field. The Wildcats don’t have a significant nonconference win (they lost narrow games to Temple and Wake Forest when guard Kellan Grady was injured) to impress the selection committee.

So continuing to play well - and racking up the victories - in the conference will be the Wildcats’ best argument.

Player of Year case for Gudmundsson

Two Wildcats have won Atlantic 10 Player of the Year since Davidson joined the conference in 2014 - Tyler Kalinoski in 2014-15 and Peyton Aldridge (co-player of the year last season). It might happen again this season, although it likely wouldn’t be the player many thought had a good shot at it before the season began.

Although sophomore guard Kellan Grady has been outstanding (averaging 17.3 points points), it’s junior guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson who has become the Wildcats’ most irreplaceable player and a unique force in the league. Gudmundsson is the only player in the A-10 who ranks in the top 10 in scoring (16.5), rebounds (7.0) and assists (4.3). He’s also fifth in free-throw percentage (82.2), 11th in steals (1.4), tied for sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.4) and eighth in minutes (35.9).

Then there’s this: Gudmundsson, a lean 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, is tied for the league lead in defensive rebounding (6.3).

He consistently flirts with triple-doubles and his performance Wednesday against Rhode Island (20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three assists) was one for the ages. He was 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and made 9-of-10 free throws. All 12 of those rebounds were defensive.

Gudmundsson is relentless offensively. He finds the smallest of openings in the defense and drives to the basket, where he converts difficult layups. He finds cutting teammates for deft assists and is a dangerous 3-point shooter (34.2 percent).

There are other legitimate player-of-the year candidates in the A-10 - Saint Joseph’s Charlie Brown, Richmond’s Grant Golden and Grady among them. No one, however, is having the kind of season - in all facets - that Gudmundsson is having.

This story was originally published February 8, 2019 at 2:29 PM.